Isles' Nabokov earns 54th shutout in win over TB

New York Islanders left wing David Ullstrom (41), of Sweden, shoots between Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas (75), of the Czech Republic, and right wing Teddy Purcell (16) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday in Tampa.

Published: Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning seemed ready to right the ship, but the captain has gone down.

So the Bolts have to find a way to win without Vinny Lecavalier in the lineup. That task began Thursday night at the Times Forum.

And it turned into a frustrating performance. Despite the efforts of goalie Anders Lindback, the Lightning lost 2-0 to the New York Islanders.

John Tavares scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and 37-year-old Evgeni Nabokov made 18 saves for his second shutout of the season. Brad Boyes scored into an empty net with 39.4 seconds left.

But the Bolts (11-15-1) passed up too many shots, and because of that, passed up a chance to win.

"We don't want to shoot when it's not time," Boucher said. "We passed on 17 shooting opportunities, and I don't accept that. That can create rebounds, or create chaos, and goals come from that."

Lindback made 27 saves. He's starting to pick his game up but the offense is not as prominent as it was at the start of the season.

"We can't get it together on the same day," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "That's the story of our year."

The Lightning's 18 shots are a season-low at home. That total does not include 15 shots that missed the net and 13 others blocked by the Islanders (12-12-3), plus several missed passes when a shot was a batter option.

"We can't buy a goal," Boucher said. "We have to find a way to bury those. Those secondary chances are the ones that usually go in. It wasn't our defensive play that hurt us."

The Lightning (11-15-1) had a chance to tie it after pulling Lindback, but shots went off other Lightning players and did not get on goal.

"It's the extra hesitation to find option B or C, and that's what's frustrating," Boucher said. "We're giving up what we control, and that's not acceptable."

It had been 53 games since the last shutout by a Tampa Bay opponent. Ottawa's Craig Anderson blanked the Lightning 4-0 here on Feb. 14, 2012.

Before the game, the Bolts got some bad news, as if they needed it. Tampa Bay placed Lecavalier on injured reserve before with a lower-body injury, so he will miss at least three more Lightning games. He can return as soon as March 23 against Ottawa, but that return is iffy.

"Lecavalier plays a lot of minutes," Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said before the game. "He's one of our key faceoff guys and power-play guys. It's a difficult hole to fill, but we have to try to look at something positive. Someone's going to come down from Syracuse (American Hockey League) and get an opportunity."

The Islanders (12-12-3) got on the board with their man advantage. Tavares had a tap-in back-hander at 10:22 after a Mark Streit shot was deflected by Boyes. Matt Moulson got the puck and dished it to Tavares at the left post.

The Bolts got their first power play late in the period, but did not convert. A Steven Stamkos shot just missed the net with 1:40 remaining.

"We need results," Lightning winger Ryan Malone said. "We can work as hard as you want, but we need to be smart about it."

A drab opening period saw no goals or penalties. The best Tampa Bay chance came early in the period, but Nabokov made good stops on Malone and B.J. Crombeen.

Lindback kept his team in the game with 13 saves, including back-to-back stops on Lubomir Visnovsky and Matt Martin midway through the period.

However, Lindback had no chance on the goal. He did give his team a chance to win, but Nabokov was just a bit better.

<p><em>TAMPA BAY</em> - The Tampa Bay Lightning seemed ready to right the ship, but the captain has gone down.</p><p>So the Bolts have to find a way to win without Vinny Lecavalier in the lineup. That task began Thursday night at the Times Forum.</p><p>And it turned into a frustrating performance. Despite the efforts of goalie Anders Lindback, the Lightning lost 2-0 to the New York Islanders.</p><p>John Tavares scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and 37-year-old Evgeni Nabokov made 18 saves for his second shutout of the season. Brad Boyes scored into an empty net with 39.4 seconds left.</p><p>But the Bolts (11-15-1) passed up too many shots, and because of that, passed up a chance to win.</p><p>"We don't want to shoot when it's not time," Boucher said. "We passed on 17 shooting opportunities, and I don't accept that. That can create rebounds, or create chaos, and goals come from that."</p><p>Lindback made 27 saves. He's starting to pick his game up but the offense is not as prominent as it was at the start of the season.</p><p>"We can't get it together on the same day," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "That's the story of our year."</p><p>The Lightning's 18 shots are a season-low at home. That total does not include 15 shots that missed the net and 13 others blocked by the Islanders (12-12-3), plus several missed passes when a shot was a batter option.</p><p>"We can't buy a goal," Boucher said. "We have to find a way to bury those. Those secondary chances are the ones that usually go in. It wasn't our defensive play that hurt us."</p><p>The Lightning (11-15-1) had a chance to tie it after pulling Lindback, but shots went off other Lightning players and did not get on goal.</p><p>"It's the extra hesitation to find option B or C, and that's what's frustrating," Boucher said. "We're giving up what we control, and that's not acceptable."</p><p>It had been 53 games since the last shutout by a Tampa Bay opponent. Ottawa's Craig Anderson blanked the Lightning 4-0 here on Feb. 14, 2012.</p><p>Before the game, the Bolts got some bad news, as if they needed it. Tampa Bay placed Lecavalier on injured reserve before with a lower-body injury, so he will miss at least three more Lightning games. He can return as soon as March 23 against Ottawa, but that return is iffy.</p><p>"Lecavalier plays a lot of minutes," Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said before the game. "He's one of our key faceoff guys and power-play guys. It's a difficult hole to fill, but we have to try to look at something positive. Someone's going to come down from Syracuse (American Hockey League) and get an opportunity."</p><p>The Islanders (12-12-3) got on the board with their man advantage. Tavares had a tap-in back-hander at 10:22 after a Mark Streit shot was deflected by Boyes. Matt Moulson got the puck and dished it to Tavares at the left post.</p><p>The Bolts got their first power play late in the period, but did not convert. A Steven Stamkos shot just missed the net with 1:40 remaining.</p><p>"We need results," Lightning winger Ryan Malone said. "We can work as hard as you want, but we need to be smart about it."</p><p>A drab opening period saw no goals or penalties. The best Tampa Bay chance came early in the period, but Nabokov made good stops on Malone and B.J. Crombeen.</p><p>Lindback kept his team in the game with 13 saves, including back-to-back stops on Lubomir Visnovsky and Matt Martin midway through the period.</p><p>However, Lindback had no chance on the goal. He did give his team a chance to win, but Nabokov was just a bit better.</p>